QuEra Computing Inc.
Quantum Computing company in Boston, Massachusetts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
QuEra Computing Inc. is a quantum computing company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company develops quantum computers using neutral atoms based on research conducted at both Harvard University and MIT. QuEra also develops software for simulating systems of Rydberg atoms.[1][2] and finding solutions to Combinatorial Optimization problems.[3]
- Mikhail Lukin
- Vladan Vuletić
- Markus Greiner
- Dirk Englund
- Nathan Gemelke
- John Pena
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Quantum Computing |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people |
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| Website | www |
QuEra actively conducts research in Condensed Matter Physics[4] and combinatorial optimization[5] using neutral atoms as well.
History
QuEra Computing was founded by Mikhail Lukin, Vladan Vuletić, Markus Greiner, Dirk Englund, Nathan Gemelke, and John Pena in 2018.[2] It emerged from stealth on November 17, 2021.[6]
Prior to QuEra's founding, research into using and controlling neutral atoms had already started in 2015 at Harvard and MIT, culminating in a 51-qubit machine[7] which later led to the development of a 256-qubit machine.[8]
On October 24, 2024, the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center announced a $16 million expansion to its computing campus, planning to build a quantum computing complex. QuEra Computing was announced as a partner in the project.[9]
In September 2025 QuEra secures 230 million series B investment from NVentures and Google to accelerate fault tolerant neutral atom quantum computing.[10]
Technology
QuEra uses neutral atoms based on Rubidium which are controlled and trapped using lasers[11] as its qubits.
On November 1, 2022, QuEra released its 256-qubit machine Aquila, to the general public through the Amazon cloud service Braket.[12][13]
QuEra currently supports an analog computing mode that relies on the Rydberg blockade phenomena and the position of atoms to achieve superposition and entanglement. The analog mode could allow problems such as the Maximum Weight Independent set (graph theory) (MWIS) to be expressed and solved with research from the company to map other problems onto MWIS as well[14][15]
QuEra plans to offer a hybrid analog-digital quantum computer soon followed by a fully digital gate-based system.[2]
QuEra was selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to participate in Stage B of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), joining ten other leading companies in the quantum computing industry.[16] This selection follows QuEra's successful completion of Stage A, which required participants to outline a path to developing utility-scale quantum computers. The QBI program seeks to assess whether a practical, industrially useful quantum computer can be realized by 2033.
Funding
QuEra emerged from stealth on November 17, 2021, with $17M in funding from Rakuten, Day One Ventures, Frontiers Capital, Serguei Beloussov, and Paul Maritz.[17]
On February 11, 2025, QuEra raised $230M in a Series B round with a post-money valuation of $1B. The lead investors were SoftBank Vision Fund and Google Quantum AI. Valor Equity Partners, QVT Family Office, and Safar Partners were the other investors.[18] On September 9, 2025, Nvidia’s NVentures venture capital arm extended the Series B round.[19]
Leadership
QuEra was cofounded by Mikhail Lukin, Vladan Vuletić, Markus Greiner, Dirk Englund, Nathan Gemelke, and John Pena. [20]
On July 15, 2024,[21] QuEra announced that Alex Keesling would transition from CEO to an unnamed new role and that the Board of Directors had appointed board member Andy Ory to serve as the acting CEO while the board searched for a replacement.[22]
The leadership team includes Andy Ory (Chief Executive Officer), Takuya Kitagawa (President), Alex Keesling (Chief Science Officer), Nathan Gemelke (Chief Technology Strategist), Mikhail Lukin (Chief Scientist), Vladan Vuletić (Chief Technology Officer), Yuval Boger (Chief Commercial Officer), and Ed Durkin (Chief Financial Officer).[23]